Sunderland are still trying to work out Bali Mumba’s best positions, manager Jack Ross admits.

And while the Scot is not desperate to tie the 17-year-old down to any particular role, he wants Mumba to learn how to do a few jobs really well

Having started his Black Cats’ career as a central midfielder, Mumba has begun this season as a right-back, where he played for England Under-19s during Thursday’s 3-1 win over Greece at St George’s Park. It would be no great surprise if he was back there in Germany on Monday.

Mumba, who was famously pushed into the Black Cats’ engine room while waiting for his GCSE results in August 2018, can also play at centre-back.

“I’m not sure at the moment,” Ross replied when asked if he knew Mumba’s best position. “I think it’s a challenge for Elliot (Dickman, Sunderland’s under-23 coach) and Michael (Proctor, his assistant) because we’ve had conversations about making sure we identify that and making him the best he can possibly be in that area.

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“I know they’ve been pleased with how he’s performed at full-back recently and he played there earlier in his academy career.

“There’s a trust in them at the moment because they see him a lot more than I do and they’re working a lot closer with him but my opinion of him as a young footballer has never changed. Watching him again in training recently (when Mumba joined in with the first team as he sometimes does), he’s got brilliant attributes and I like him. He’s an asset to the football club and he’ll go on to have a good career as long as he keeps doing what he’s doing because his desire to get better is really good.”

Central midfield is probably where Sunderland are strongest at the moment, which is why they felt able to let captain George Honeyman and Lee Cattermole leave in the summer, with only George Dobson signed in their place. Grant Leadbitter, Max Power and Dylan McGeouch all play there, and it is one of the positions Elliot Embleton can perform in as the 20-year-old tries to work out his best role too.

Luke O’Nien joined as a midfielder but is learning the job of right-back, having won Sunderland’s young player of the year award from there last season. Conor McLaughlin provides competition and central defenders Jordan Willis and Tom Flanagan can also cover there.

“There’s pros and cons to tying him down to a position at this age,” Ross said of Mumba. “The benefit is learning something inside out, the cons are you might restrict his ability and his first-team opportunities. If you’re a midfielder and you’ve got four first-team midfielders at first-team level all playing well it’s really difficult. If you can also play as a winger (as Embleton can) and there’s only one winger ahead of you, you might get your opportunity.

“Versatility, particularly in the modern game, can be an advantage but equally we have to make sure he learns how to play a position or more than one position well.

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“Probably the only reason he (Mumba) wasn’t involved against Burnley (in the League Cup) was positionally. We had a lot players playing in similar parts of the park to him either starting or on the bench.”

The Football League Trophy could also provide opportunities for Mumba to add to his nine senior appearances but the bulk of his club education will come at under-23 level in the short term.

“He went straight from school so he actually missed out on being involved with a lot of the players around his own age and even judging himself against them. So we made a conscious decision to let him enjoy that.”